1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to the management of telephone systems. More particularly, the present invention is directed to systems and methods for assisting in the management of several telephone network systems, devices and equipment. Even more particularly, the present invention is directed to assisting a loop capacity manager in managing specific telephone network capacities and equipment; the invention is also directed to identifying locations for marketing where certain service types are available in a shorter interval.
2. Background of the Invention
Telephone facilities are managed using a cable name and a pair range. This method originated in the days when the only facility was a copper cable which originated at the Central Office (CO). The cable leaving the CO to the north might be called cable 1, the cable to the east might be cable 2, and so on. Cable 1 might have 1800 pairs, thus it is denoted as 1: 1–1800 (or 1, 1–1800.) A customer's telephone number can then be reported as working on a particular pair such as 2:27.
As facility types have expanded to include digital loop carrier (DLC), fiber optic cables, and multiplexers, telephone companies have continued to use the same notation. In these cases, an attempt is made to logically name the cable. The first DLC systems were manufactured by Pair Gain, Inc., thus the naming convention for DLC systems of PG. For example, the first DLC system in a CO might be PG10, 1–100 (a pair gain system can provide 96 lines, so the notation typically uses a range of 1–100 for the sake of simplicity.) Multiplexers are used in the local loop to convert fiber optic signals to DS-1 copper services. These DS-1 facilities are managed with a cable name of MD for multiplexer derived and an appropriate pair range.
More specifically, FIG. 1 depicts a typical telephone network including a first central office 10 that is connected, via connection pathway 11, to a second central office 12. Communication pathway 11 is of a known character and might comprise copper cable, fiber optic cable or radio frequency connectivity, or combinations of these mediums. Central office 12 (and likely 10, as well) includes a multiplexer/demultiplexer (MUX) 15 such as an OC-3 multiplexer or MUX, which might be operable to, for example, convert 3 DS-3 service lines into 84 T-1 or 84 DS-1 service lines, and vice versa.
MUX 15 is typically connected, via fiber optic cable 17, to a remote terminal (RT) 20 that houses a digital loop carrier (DLC) system or pair gain (PG) device 22 that is operable to convert DS-1 service levels to DS-0 service levels. Commercially-available pair gain devices are, for example, operable to convert between 4 DS-1 service lines and 96 DS-0 service lines.
The resulting individual DS-0 lines are typically connected, or fed, to a cross connect or cross box 25, via a feeder cable 24 that includes a plurality of copper pairs. In a typical telephone network, cable 24 might have anywhere from 1–1800 pairs of twenty-two, twenty-four or twenty-six gauge twisted pair copper wire.
The other side of cross box 25 (the right side in FIG. 1) is connected to a distribution cable 27, which also includes a plurality of copper wire pairs that are used, respectively, to service individual customers 30a, 30b, 30c, 30d. Some customers 30 will have the need for several telephone lines to furnish combinations of, e.g., telephone service, computer modems, fax machines, ISDN, T1, ADSL, etc. Such customers will thus require more that one twisted pair of copper wire. Cross box 25 is thus used to connect customer lines 29a, 29b, 29c, 29d to the appropriate DS-0 service line made available via feeder cable 24.
In many cases central office 12 can be connected directly to cross box 25 via copper cable 32, thereby bypassing a separate remote terminal. In such a case, the central office itself might include the functionality of the remote terminal including the pair gain device.
As can be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art, managing the network and equipment shown in FIG. 1 and described above can be daunting. Typically, a loop capacity manager (LCM), i.e., the manager responsible for the “local loop,” is responsible for (i) keeping track of network capacities, equipment capacities and physical plant, (ii) determining whether bottlenecks are occurring or whether shortages are about to occur and (iii) proposing or preparing a plan of action for alleviating any such bottlenecks or shortages.
Telcordia, Morristown, N.J., is one manufacturer of telecommunications management software that captures various pieces of information that describe the several aspects of the local loop in an attempt to aid LCMs in managing the telephone network. One Telcordia product, commonly known as LFACS (Loop Facility Assignment Control System), which is used by most of the regional bell operating companies (RBOCs), functions as a database of record for all local loop services by storing information about each of the service levels in the local loop including direct customer DS-1 service, “plain old telephone service (POTS),” and even party line service that still may be available in rural areas.
However, LFACS, by itself is limited in its ability to provide all of the information that may be necessary for an LCM to effectively manage the local loop. Specifically, LFACS includes only assignment data in the form of cable name and pair range. There is no information in LFACS that describes equipment.
To keep track of equipment, such as MUX's, SLCs and DLCs, RBOCs maintain several databases that capture equipment information. However, such databases typically do not also contain assignment data. That is, although an LCM might have access to both a database such as LFACS and another database that stores equipment information, the two databases are not tied together in any meaningful way. Indeed, it is often the case such databases are maintained by different entities, which causes the databases to be inconsistent with respect to each other. Accordingly, it is very difficult for an LCM to take advantage of the available information to conduct his local loop management function.
In addition to the foregoing, the desire for increased bandwidth has skyrocketed in the past decade. This has resulted in customers gaining direct access to DS-1/T-1 and higher data rate service lines, rather than only DS-0 service lines. As a result, LCMs have also been recently tasked with managing these lines as well.
Further, Digital Service Line (DSL) demand has also increased significantly in the past several years. Tracking and managing DSL usage is also typically the responsibility of the LCM. However, current management tools are insufficient for managing ADSL as a part of the entire telephone network.